There are many TV shows and YouTube channels that are dedicated to the idea of acquiring and resurrecting old vehicles whose best days are long behind them.
The shows themselves are interesting, entertaining and occasionally sad, depending upon the circumstances.
Jim Sutherland
We at MyStarcollectorCar love these programs because they represent the best and worst of the car hobby. A recent show on a car guy cable channel featured the worst of the hobby in our opinion. The main reason was the program showcased a hoarder who was in heavy denial about his affliction, a grim reality for other addicts such as chronic gamblers, alcoholics and druggies who also strongly dismiss any notion they have a major problem.
This car hoarder had two yards filled to the brim with aging muscle cars, hot rods, customs and any other vintage rides that are forced into battle with tall grass, weeds and inertia. The guy had no intention of ever selling them but categorically denied he was a hoarder-even though his yards were full and his indoor storage facilities were overwhelmed with junk piled on (and around) his vehicles.
It was a sad sight, particularly when the hoarder outlined his unrealistic game plan for restoring his oversized fleet of old rides. A few examples appeared to be about halfway into a restoration project while others looked like they were strong candidates for restoration, but his game plan appeared to be a sad pie-in-the-sky approach that needed to include living to the ripe old age of 3283 years old to complete his incredibly long list of car projects.
The hoarder emphasized that nothing he owned was for sale several times during the show. In fact, the guy took a lot of pride in the fact he intended to sell nothing, despite the fact his car crop was suffering from extreme lack of use and, in the case of the outdoor cars, a grimly inevitable loss to Mother Nature in a long and sad death match.
He had his pride and joy ‘69 Camaro convertible that was road-worthy but jailed under a car cover in one of his indoor storage buildings. The good news is the car was surrounded by a giant cache of junk, arguably the best anti-theft protection possible, given the fact the Camaro was parked in the middle of the trash chaos. It would be a tall order for even an ambitious thief to grab the man’s Camaro in that mess.
We at MyStarCollectorCar have encountered examples of this behavior over the years, including a car guy who echoed the same sad sentiment about his car collection. The other guy was happy to simply own his cars and would never under any circumstances sell any of them. He was also eager to aggressively defend his position to keep them locked away from anybody who wanted to bring his horde of neglected cars back on the road.
Bear in mind he shared his information with us–but we never asked for it or even knew he owned cars prior to meeting him in an automotive repair shop. Even worse, he was obnoxious about his game plan and proud of it.
Eventually the decision to sell the cars was no longer his decision, mostly because he died and somebody else did not share his hoarder dream.
But we assume he died happy because he kept his hoarder dream alive while he was still breathing, not unlike his fellow hoarder in the TV show.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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